Subject wise Global Events

Social Contracts, Free Riders and Utilities

As it is well known the Coase theorem [1] argue that, even in the presence of externalities, economic agents should still be able to ensure a Pareto-efficient outcome without government intervention provided that there are no constraints on their ability to bargain and contract. The argument is straightforward: if a prospective allocation is inefficient, agents will have the incentive to bargain their way to a Pareto improvement. Thus, even if markets themselves fail, Coasians hold that there is still a case for laissez-faire.